


Reversal of Fortune

by Dungeonnerd



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-12
Updated: 2019-10-12
Packaged: 2020-12-09 15:03:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20996768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dungeonnerd/pseuds/Dungeonnerd
Summary: What if Leia and Luke switched places?





	Reversal of Fortune

She was what her holo-teachers would refer to as a “problem child.” It’s not that she didn’t understand the lessons – in truth, she caught on almost too fast – but instead it’s that she had no ability to keep still when everyone else was so much slower than she was. While the teachers would ramble on about things like “math” or “history” or “Empire’s Civics” she would constantly be moving, asking questions about programming or droids.  
Really, the only time she ever sat still was when she was watching videos on the holonet, learning about how to put together increasingly more complex machinery. It started at six, with a busted clock that Uncle Owen was going to throw away. She asked for it instead, and within the week had figured out what the problem was (a busted solenoid and a mis-aligned timing gear) and had it fixed. At nine, she repaired a vaperator that had shot its primary control circuit, and at ten she “upgraded” the house droid – and upgrade that Beru made her undo, as the house-droid ended up moving too fast and damaging the good china.  
At fourteen Owen and Beru presented her with an old X-34 landspeeder – little more than a chassis and half of a repuslorlift engine, rusted and dented all to hell but it was hers. She worked on it every night for almost two years and on her sixteenth birthday she took Beru and Owen into Toshi Station with it. Granted, the trip took considerably less time than it normally would due to her modifications, but the ride was smoother than bantha milk.  
It wasn’t long after that that a Imperial Star Destroyer entered orbit, plain to see even to the naked eye, in pursuit of something or another. She watched in awe from the cliffs of beggars canyon as the sky lit up with plasma blasts, looking for some sign of what they were chasing.  
Which is why she saw the escape pod falling not far off.  
The decision was easy – later, she would pretend to have agonized over it during a conversation with Beru and Owen but in truth it was made before she even realized that she was driving, speeding through the canyon at speeds she had never even considered. She had to know.  
The Empire didn’t send Star Destroyers after just anything – she knew it had to be important. She had heard about the rebellion, of course, and longed to follow her friends to join up and fight for their rights, their freedoms, but Owen had forbade it in a tone that was uncharacteristically harsh; for once in her life she did not push back, did not argue.  
But still she found herself hurried, headed toward the wreckage. Still she found herself consumed by curiosity. Still she hungered for more – for adventure, for the stars, for magic and kings and acts of grand heroism.  
It was with disappointment that she found a pair of droids.  
A protocol droid – C3-PO he claimed, rattling on about something or another in a voice reminiscent of her history teacher and just as quickly ignored – and something special. An astromech. Designation R2-D2, professing to be on a mission to someone named General Kenobi. She laughed at first, but was quickly rebuffed by a series of downright foul-mouthed beeps from the R2 unit. When she scoffed again, he produced a message.  
It was a boy – of that she was certain. He was about her age, but carried himself with a regal air, calm and collected and appearing to be wise beyond his years. His hair was almost the same color as the sand she now sat in, his clothes a simple but effective black, tailored to appear at once regal but comfortable. Leia sat, enthralled by the sight of him, by the familiarity that she had nagging at the back of her brain.  
She had R2 play it twice more before she finally managed to pay attention to what he was saying.  
His voice was calm and steady even as chaos was happening behind him. His tones were at once commanding and friendly; it was clear that he was a born statesman. “General Kenobi,” he began, “Years ago you served my father in the Clone Wars. Now he begs you to help him in his struggle against the Empire. My ship has fallen under attack, and I’m afraid my mission to bring you to Alderaan has failed as my ship has been captured. I have placed information vital to the survival of the Rebellion into the memory systems of this R2 unit. My father will know how to retrieve it. Please, come with us to and see this droid safely delivered to him on Alderaan. This is our most desperate hour. Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You’re my only hope.” He ended with a bow that was long-practiced, smooth and flowing.  
R2 beeped again, insistently, pulling Leia out of her reverie. “Oh, no, I don’t know any old generals, but I do know a Ben Kenobi; he’s a hermit off across the south end of the Dune Sea. I go there a couple times a week to help him out in exchange for history lessons; my Aunt and Uncle set it up. They don’t really like him, but I needed a tutor and he was close. Maybe he’s related to this General you’re looking for?”  
It was a short trip from the crash site – Leia’s speeder took them far and fast and they reached his house before the second sun finished setting.  
Ben greeted them at the door, and Leia could tell that something was going on – he recognized the droids, calling them by name before they could even get out of the speeder.


End file.
